Of Mafias and Strawberry Milk
by ChidoriTachibana
Summary: Police AU. Samus Aran finds herself the target of several big shot criminals and decides to go hunt them down first. Of course, the Power Suit sucks and it's really not the perfect armor for fighting a guy with eight hands or a fire breathing turtle. But hey, there's a first time for everything, right? Rated M for language. Samus x Zelda.
1. Melting Tires

**AN: Wow I have not published anything in a long time. This is my first Smash fanfiction and it's probably going to receive many edits and updates because I have no proofreader and I'm usually really tired when I publish things. I struggled with writing the chapter due to lack of time developing the idea but I think it's turned out fine.**

 **5/5/15 : Slight edits and more information stuffed in to help with flow of story.**

* * *

"Wolf, hurry your god damn ass!" a pale ginger man whispered, fixing the dark ski mask that was sticking to his face uncomfortably. A scrawny brunette walked over to his friend, dragging a heavy looking duffel bag with him. His ski mask had been removed and was in his pocket, proof that he wasn't as paranoid (or smart) as his cohort.

"Well, Fox, the security systems are shut down thanks to Falco and we've got piles of dough that we still haven't even touched yet," Wolf said with a grin that revealed pearly whites. "Subspace Bank's the biggest target we've had in a while. Better enjoy this while we can, boy." Fox muttered something angrily under his breath before tapping onto his wristwatch communicator to have Falco help them move the money to their getaway car, the Arwing.

Wolf continued to fill sacks and containers with bundles of cash, chuckling quietly at the thought of living in luxury for the rest of his life. The quiet pattering of steps let him know that Falco had arrived, covered in dust and ready to help. "Their wiring's kind of old. It was a real pain in the ass to snip anything in that dusty place," the blue haired man complained, shifting his Blaster to Stun Mode and putting it back in its holster. Wolf rolled his eyes and roughly threw a sack of money at the paranoid man. It wasn't like the police was going to arrive anyway. It was far too late at night.

The three finally finished packing away all the money into the Arwing and Fox hopped into the driver's seat while Wolf begrudgingly took shotgun and Falco sat in the passenger seat with several large duffel bags of money. The ginger started up the engine and shifted gears from park to drive. He put his foot on the gas and the car sped off into the night. "That was easier than stealing candy from a baby," Wolf said, taking out a cigarillo and lighting it. He took a drag and cackled as smoke filled the car.

"Wolf, open a window," Fox ordered, clearly annoyed by the thought of second hand smoking. The thin man sighed and did as he was told, fresh air entering the car. Suddenly a tall figure appeared on the road and the driver stepped onto the brakes, causing Falco to almost fly off from his seat. Fox stuck his head out the window and yelled, "Ey, you! Get off the road! I'm driving-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as the figure disappeared and reappeared at his window. The sound of metal tapping the glass was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Fox turned to look at his window and found himself staring at a familiar green glowing visor. "Shit! It's Aran!" he screamed, slamming his foot on the gas and speeding off. Falco looked extremely worried in the backseat, changing his Blaster setting to Kill Mode. Wolf looked like he'd pissed his pants just from the name of their pursuer. The car began to slow down for some reason until it came to a complete halt. "The fuck?" Fox got out from the car and nearly went into a cursing fit at the sight of his melted tires.

"Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Wolf O'Donnell, get out of the car and put your hands in the air where I can see them!" a loud voice boomed as bright lights shone down on the car. Fox gulped and put his hands in the air, turning around to see Aran standing in a strange mechanical suit with several police cars behind her. Wolf slammed the door open and began to open fire on the police with his Blaster, not caring that they were shooting back. It wasn't long before he was grabbed by some sort of energy beam and slammed onto the ground, dropping his gun. He swore loudly and struggled as Aran placed handcuffs on him. "Get the rest of them," she instructed to the waiting police force. All Fox could do was sigh and hope that he got a good lawyer.

* * *

Captain. That was his title and a damn respectable one, too. His presence made most rookies at Subspace Police Bureau pretty nervous but they calmed down after a few short conversations with him. He just wished that he didn't have to wake up at two in the morning on Aran's suspicions. Then again, she was never wrong. After all, they did catch the Star Fox crew just before they hit the border of the city with almost five million Smash dollars.

Currently, it was eleven thirty-eight am and he had already gone through his second cup of strawberry milk. Real men drank what they wanted. The crime in Subspace City was rising for some reason and this wasn't particularly comforting for Douglas. The appearance of the Koopa King, the Charizard, and the Dark Lord wasn't just some coincidence.

There was a knock on the door and the captain opened it to see the slightly taller figure of Samus Aran. She was dressed in the Bureau's uniform and her blonde hair in a ponytail. The woman immediately saluted. "At ease, Lieutenant," Douglas said, raising an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"I would like to request for Sergeant Major Zelda to join the patrol squad," the blonde replied. "I believe my squad needs someone who is familiar with my strategies and the workings of the Power Suit." Falcon leaned back against his leather chair, rubbing his chin in thought.

The Power Suit was a technological breakthrough that was developed by Chozo Industries just before the company was literally razed by Space Pirates twenty years ago. The suit was built to endure a direct hit from a tank missile and more while enhancing the wearer's physical strength and endurance. It was found approximately four years ago, hidden in an underground bunker where their research labs once stood. The Subspace Police Bureau had managed to swoop down and recover the suit with some of the equipment that pertained to it. Most of the blueprints for the suit were either damaged beyond repair or destroyed in the fires so the tech team had to guess how most of it would work. The AI on its computer refused to give them information about itself, only asking for a secret password.

It did allow people to try and use it. However, the Power Suit was, putting it lightly, selective of its wearer. Tests were given by the suit's computer and numerous police officers took them, most failing miserably to meet its incredibly high standards in terms of physical and mental endurance. Not to mention, the final trial was to put on the suit and walk around in it. Douglas was one of the few who passed the initial testing but never even got to take a step in the Power Suit because it was incredibly heavy. It seemed like a hopeless cause to keep it in the weapons vault if no one was ever going to use it. That is, until Samus Aran became a member of the Subspace Police Bureau.

She was the adopted daughter of CEO of Chozo Industries and it almost seemed as if she was destined to put on the suit. She passed each test with stunning results and was immediately put into Falcon's personal defense squad after she performed three back flips in a row just seconds after putting on the Power Suit. Samus was cold, only giving short responses to her co-workers and barely speaking to anyone except him. After an unfortunate situation where the arm cannon for the suit suddenly broke, Samus got to know Sergeant Major Zelda, the leader of the tech team that was researching the Power Suit.

Douglas noticed that the blonde began going to the testing room more and more often for repairs, calibration, and whatnot. The captain had suspected _something_ had happened between the two but didn't say anything. Wasn't his business, after all. At the very least, Samus was starting to talk to more people and building up a good reputation. Not to mention, she could rely on someone who would actually empathize with her better.

"Well, she's not assigned to anything for the next month," Douglas said nonchalantly, flipping through Zelda's files on his computer. "She'll be on the next patrol tonight. Anything else you need, Samus?" The blonde shook her head. "If you need anything, just ask me." She left the room and closed the door behind her. He looked at his empty cup and decided that more strawberry milk sounded like a good idea.

* * *

"Hydraulics in the arm and leg areas have activated. Systems are all online." Zelda's fingers flew across the keyboard, her steel blue eyes focused on the mess of data that she was reorganizing on the large haptic screen. A holographic view of the Power Suit was to the left of the screen, red dots glowing in the knee and shoulder areas of the hologram. Large bulletproof windows in front of the brunette revealed a small testing room where Samus was sitting on a chair while wearing the Power Suit. Several wires were connected to the suit that fed information to Zelda's computer.

The brunette frowned as the damage reports began to pile up on the right side of her screen. "Cooling pipe 3-K has leaks, left shoulder plate has significant burn damage, arm cannon is functioning at 67% capacity, left shoulder joint is having movement problems..." Zelda blew some stray bangs away from her face and frowned while adjusting her glasses. There was so much to fix it was almost frustrating. She'd have to work with Samus on the repairs for the rest of the morning at this rate (not that she minded). "Samus, we can begin repairs now," Zelda said, speaking into a microphone that was linked to the testing room.

Samus nodded and with the brunette's help detached the wires from the armor. The Power Suit made the blonde even taller than she already was, boosting her height to seven feet. She took off the helmet first, her long blonde hair flowing out like a waterfall. Samus looked over and noticed that Zelda was staring at her. "You alright?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm just thinking of where to start repairs," Zelda fibbed while removing the arm cannon and setting it aside. _Stop getting distracted, Zelda. Samus is just your friend and co-worker. Don't get worked up because her hair looks amazing when she takes off the helmet._ Eventually, most of the armor had been completely removed except for the boots... and the Zero Suit.

The Zero Suit was supposedly a prototype to the Power Suit but didn't look anything like it. It was a skin tight blue suit that went from Samus' neck to her ankles that had to be worn while in the armor to ensure maximum movement and flexibility. The material was some sort of high polymer synthetic cloth that was so complex, Zelda had a hard time wrapping her mind around it. Her specialty was machines and guns, not chemistry. What was most amazing about the Zero Suit was that it linked neurologically to the Power Suit, enabling Samus to walk around in half a ton of metal with no problem. No one in the labs had figured out how to duplicate this yet and frankly, Zelda didn't really want to see another Power Suit being made either. More repairs, after all.

"Wolf really fucked up my suit, didn't he?" the blonde asked, grimacing at the terrible plasma burns all over the left shoulder piece.

"That would be putting it lightly," Zelda replied, setting the arm canon on the worktable to take it apart. "You haven't been calibrating your arm cannon very much. Have you been busy?" An awkward silence came between the two of them. _Oh crap, I asked the wrong question..._

"I... yes I have been. Too much crime, not enough time to relax," Samus said quietly, picking up pieces of the Power Suit and putting them carefully on the worktable. "I'll be back after I change. Don't get lonely without me." Zelda stuck out her tongue and the blonde laughed in response before entering a small changing room nearby. Repairs really didn't seem too bad after all.

* * *

 **AN: I was absolutely conflicted as to how I'd write out a complex relationship between Samus and Zelda. I truly want to write something that is in-depth and in character with a bit of out of character traits in it to make it more than what it seems. I'm a bit sad I didn't get to flesh out the chapter too much and the fact I didn't even introduce our main antagonists yet. Oh well, there's always updates and the next chapter... right? This chapter is dedicated to _TwiliDragonRin_ for helping me remember that Zeldus is the ultimate Smash OTP.**


	2. Spinning Chairs

**AN: I'm alive everyone, don't worry! I apologize for the very late update but I was basically being a really lazy person and writers block hit me so hard, I was struggling to get back up. I'm not satisfied entirely with this chapter but I didn't really know how else to write it. *shrugs* This chapter is also very Bowser-centric and kinda boring but I assure you, within the next chapter or so, the story will start to pick up.**

* * *

"... you are permitted to dock, Flaming Torch. Head over to bridge 4. The inspection crew will meet you to do a basic scan for weapons, narcotics, and illegal items of any kind." Red eyes glared at the haptic screen in annoyance, sharp nails tapping on the shoulder of a shaking koopa flight lieutenant. "Bridge 4 is open, you may dock."

"Understood," the koopa said, nervously tapping the controls to allow the ship to dock carefully next to the thin pier that looked like it hadn't been used for some time. Large magnetic clasps took hold of the warship as the anti-gravity engines began to power down. A hologram of the number 4 was at the front of the tiny pier, flickering occasionally from circuit problems. Bowser grumbled in amusement at the lack of tourists in what was once considered a vacation city.

Subspace was no longer living in the glory of its past since the crime rate began to rise about seven years ago. He almost missed the old Ferris Wheel and the annual high speed races but he knew he wasn't here for leisure. He was here because an old friend had sent him an... interesting deal to say the least. The Chozo Power Suit had been found in the possession of Samus Aran, a lieutenant of the Subspace Police Bureau, after a surveillance camera caught the arrest of Star Fox. It was supposedly missing but the koopa had long suspected otherwise, having watched the crime rate drop slightly in the past half a year.

If Bowser could steal this suit and turn it over to his friend unscratched, he'd receive one hundred thousand gold coins and twenty-five percent of whatever the suit sold for on the black market afterwards. The files on the suit and Samus Aran were to be withheld unless the koopa pitched in something of his own, though of course he had something up his sleeve. Bowser's nickname wasn't "Koopa King" for nothing.

The inspection crew looked through the storage hold, only finding fuel cells and several containers of foodstuffs. Their scans of the walls came up clean, not surprising Bowser. Their tech was at least a few years behind. "You're clear to disembark," the crew leader said, saluting before leaving the storage area. As soon as the area was empty, the giant koopa motioned for his crew to start unscrewing the metal plates from the walls. Military grade explosives had been taped into the insides of the walls, wrapped in a special insulating material that blocked all sensor equipment.

"Pack it under the food, boys," Bowser snapped to his workers, his mouth set in a permanent scowl. "We've got a long day ahead of us..." The dry air was really starting to piss him off.

* * *

"You're scheduled for a patrol through the southern docks tonight at 10:30 pm, Sergeant Major Zelda." The words surprised the mechanic and for a second she thought Captain Falcon was joking. To her disbelief, he wasn't, even though he was gleefully spinning in his office chair and occasionally hitting his knees on his desk. Zelda was tempted to buy one just to understand why he was having so much fun on a chair that spun on _wheels_.

"Sir, I'm... who requested for me to be on the patrol squad?" the brunette asked, racking her brains for any sort of courageous or impressive action she might have performed recently to earn such a dangerous position. Patrols weren't exactly safe and although there hadn't been any casualties, there had been some serious injuries due to the officer's own mistakes in dealing with ruffians and gangsters.

Link, Mario, Ike, and Marth were members of the group that patrolled the southern docks due to their veteran status in the force. Zelda knew their names by heart because Link was a close friend and because all four of them always seemed to have some maintenance problem with their plasma resistant armor. Funding was never high enough to get better armors but they worked with what they had.

"Lieutenant Aran personally asked for you yesterday. I only had the time to tell you now since I've been horribly swamped with work all day," the captain replied, coming to a halt very suddenly. "So, do you have any other questions, Sergeant Major?" Zelda liked being part of the Bureau. She absolutely adored tinkering with machinery and reading the nearly incomprehensible blueprints to the Power Suit. But she really didn't like the thought of getting shot at. Or shooting something that wasn't a simulation. _When was the last time I even held a gun outside of the shooting range?_ she wondered.

"Sir, I don't believe that I am fit for patrols right now," the brunette said, her eyebrows knitting together. "I think I'm better suited for tech work."

Douglas sat in silence before reaching into his desk and pulling out a thick manila folder and slapping it in front of her. "Exercising Hours of Officers" had been written on the folder with a black marker. "All the equipment in the basement gym and shooting range records the user's time, reps, sets, and all that other crap," he said while pulling out Zelda's records. "I've reviewed everything. You're in great shape due to the fact that you use most of the machines several hours a day, you've used most of the guns at the range without a problem, not to mention, you've got an accuracy rating of 88.5%, about seven percent behind Link's own record.

"I don't see a reason for you to not be on tonight's patrol," Douglas finished, pushing his sunglasses back up. Zelda still looked rather anxious so he spoke again, "Zelda, I suppose you were right. You are better suited for tech work. Samus needs you out there supporting her and giving her essential data since that damned ADAM AI in the Power Suit doesn't like cooperating with any of the other techs we've had on the squad. You were the leader of the team that turned the Power Suit from a metal basketball into the reason why criminals run." The brunette nodded nervously, remembering the countless hours she'd spent just trying to figure out how to make the suit come out of Morph Ball form. "We need your expertise, Zelda."

She closed her eyes and thought on it. Being around them wasn't going to be that bad, she supposed. On-field data and repairs would help her understand the Power Suit better and maybe even Samus... _This is just a patrol, Zelda. Don't think of this opportunity like that,_ she thought, breathing deeply. "Alright, Captain," the brunette said quietly. "I'll go. How long will I be doing this?"

"This entire month, at least," Douglas replied, grinning while handing her an info disk for her new schedule. "You're scheduled from Monday to Thursday, starting today." Zelda really hoped her previous measurements for armor were the same as before...

* * *

Samus never thought much of her office. It was a bit bigger than other offices due to the fact it was previously a storage room and it came along with the standard desk, computer, chairs, and bookshelf. It was a comfortable room but an e-mail on her computer was making it otherwise. Apparently, the city had found it a good idea to fine her several thousand for "damaging important roadways" with melted tire rubber.

She concluded it was extremely illogical to just give her a bill for something that any person with a sharp edged tool could easily remove. The streets weren't even paved smoothly, for God's sake. ADAM had sent Samus the address to the nearest lawyer, stating she would eventually need it if the city continued to fine her for protecting it. This was so annoying...

A message popped up on her computer, covering part of the e-mail. _"Prep a scanner for tonight. Go to Warehouse 6 at the Docks and search the place. I have a feeling you'll want to take a good look inside. Adjust your scanner to thermal while searching. You had good instincts to have Zelda join in. -Falcon."_ Samus quickly typed up a reply and sent it before leaving her office to the testing room, glad for a distraction.

The testing room only had a few monitors and wires that reached out to the computer just outside along with a working table for repairs and far too many tools to count. Her Power Suit was hooked up to the charging station, protected by a two inch layer of bullet-proof glass. The only way to get it out was with a thorough voice, hand print, and iris check along with a password confirmation. If the city's generator suddenly shut down, the charging station had its own backup battery to run on for another thirty hours.

"Hello, Miss Aran," ADAM chirped from the monitor as Samus hooked her helmet onto it. A wall of programs appeared on the screen and the blonde scrolled through before selecting "Scanner." "Do you wish to adjust the scanner for tonight's patrol?"

"Yeah," she replied, frowning at the WARNING that suddenly appeared. "ADAM, is there a restriction on _another_ part of the helmet?" There was a short silence, almost as if the AI was embarrassed to answer this question. "Did I mess something up inside while fixing it earlier?"

"Miss Aran, the helmet does not have a thermal or heat seeking vision mode installed, hence the system is warning you that you are not able to use what is not there. The downloading process for the program has begun. It will require an hour, including installation time." ADAM fell silent as Samus sighed and leaned back in the cold metal chair. "Is something the matter?"

The blonde scowled at the monitor. "ADAM, I have a feeling in my gut that something will go wrong tonight," she admitted, glancing at her suit. "I want you to search up the storage records for Warehouse 6 at the South Docks. If you find anything strange, let me know immediately."

"Understood, Miss Aran," the AI said obediently. "Would you like this data arranged in slideshow, video, or document format?" Samus sighed, letting her forehead hit the desk.

* * *

"The information leak was successful, sir. They will be investigating Warehouse 6 tonight instead of Warehouse 10." Bowser smiled at the good news, his grin revealing rows of sharp teeth. His meaty hand patted the koopa officer's shoulder in congratulation, nearly dislocating it in the process.

"Good job, weakling. Your pay will be tripled," the Koopa King said dismissively before sitting back on his oak throne. It was a luxurious item he'd brought along with him from Mushroom Kingdom, its arms polished daily by his countless servants. He'd also brought along his granite desk, one of the few things he hadn't broken yet in his tirades. An incoming call on his computer caught his attention but the caller ID had made him focus immediately on the task.

A dark silhouette appeared on the screen, moving occasionally. "So you've truly arrived in Subspace City, Bowser," the familiar gravely voice said. "I received your goods. They are in very good condition and are of excellent quality. I'm surprised you managed to find fire flower buds for my customers. I heard they're getting rarer on your planet after an enormous harvest from the Plumber Union."

"Save the chit-chat," Bowser growled, slamming his meaty fist against his desk. "I want my files." He chuckled and seemed to turn towards something out of view. Several files immediately popped up on the screen and the large koopa looked through one of them, surprised at how thorough it was. "You'll be getting more than just fire flower buds, my good friend. You'll be getting your suit too."

Even with his friend's face covered in darkness, Bowser knew he was smiling. "Excellent. I have faith in our future business transactions," he said, the signal cutting immediately. The koopa began to skim through the first file, immediately growing bored and sending them all to one of his servants to summarize it for him. Bowser was a king but reading wasn't his thing.

He stood up from his throne, stomping out of the office and into the cavernous storage area of Warehouse 10. Countless flying koopas were flitting around the giant space with mechanical parts in their clawed hands. Huge crates were scattered throughout the warehouse, emptied of their contents hours ago. At the very center of this chaos was the Mecha Blazer M3, still being reconstructed piece by piece.

It was a battlesuit that was built for Bowser and Bowser alone. Each part had been delivered discretely to Subspace City weeks prior to his arrival and assembly had begun earlier that day and it was nearing completion. Its abilities had been _very_ well tested in Mushroom Kingdom against the Plumber Union six years ago and he could clearly recall the screams as he tore his enemies to shreds with titanium claws. _Most of the screams came from the poor bastards who were on fire, of course,_ Bowser thought, chuckling.

The armor consisted of layers of fire retardant and plasma-proof mesh underneath thick plates of depleted uranium, making anyone in the Mecha Blazer a walking tank. Three flamethrowers had been installed into the armor, one in the neck area and one in each elbow. Six inch titanium claws popped out of the knuckles when a fist was clenched, shredding through whatever Bowser punched.

 _I'm bringing in a huge haul tonight..._

* * *

 **AN: The next chapter will most likely focus on the rest of the patrol squad but it'll quickly head into fighting and plot territory! It might also focus on the Samus-Zelda interaction I'm dying to write about. BUT, covering all the bases must come before the OTP! Please leave a review! Constructive criticism is a blessing!**


	3. ADAM's Folly

**A/N: I really should've updated earlier but I didn't feel like writing until today and ended up with a thousand more words than I thought I could manage. I apologize for literally taking a month to update a chapter but my life's been busy and my ability to write anything has been drained by SAT prep and bad food. Anyway, here's chapter 3, as promised.**

* * *

 _Goddesses, my arms hurt... everything feels heavy._ Zelda's eyes slowly opened, the interior of her helmet a blur of flashing red lights in the darkness surrounding her. She blinked several more times before she could make out the word "WARNING" and a message that said something about low shield battery. "What an uncomfortable position I'm in..." the Hylian mumbled sleepily, attempting to move her arms to shift herself. An ominous clacking sound was heard with each attempt to move and Zelda suddenly recognized the sound through the haze of her mind. She was in handcuffs.

"... Zelda-san, you are awake?" a familiar voice asked quietly through the communications link in her helmet.

"Marth, is that you?" the Hylian exclaimed, glad to hear a friendly voice. "Where are you?"

"I am right in front of you, Zelda-san," Marth whispered, coughing. "Currently, my helmet torch is broken. Perhaps yours might, as they say, shed some light on this situation?" Zelda turned around in her sitting position before tapping the front area of her helmet against the wall behind her. A bright light illuminated the small cell and the brunette saw the crumpled form of her co-worker in the corner, blood seeping out of his armor on his left leg. Marth's helmet was still on, a crater on the right side where the flashlight would've been.

Zelda stood up slowly, glad that they hadn't shackled her legs. She approached Marth and knelt down to inspect his injury. Four nasty cuts had made their way under his armor, digging down almost to the bone. His armor's medical programs were probably malfunctioning or turned off. "How in the world did you get these?" the Hylian asked, awkwardly stepping back over her handcuffed arms in a sitting position to put her hands in front of her.

"You do not remember?" Marth asked almost incredulously while Zelda fiddled with his chest plate's minicomputer. "Zelda-san, we were assaulted and we are captives-" Almost instantly, a dark ooze flooded his leg wound, sealing the area. He hissed in pain while the brunette checked his vitals, glad to see that he was stabilizing. "Your helmet should have a recording of what happened until now. Please check it..." These were the last words the Hylian heard from Marth before he passed out.

The brunette sat down next to him, wondering what in the world had happened up till now. And how had they been captured? Was anyone else captured with them? Zelda shook her head, clearing her mind before she said, "Replay last recording."

* * *

 _"Good evening, everyone,"_ Samus' voice rang out as the Power Suit appeared on the helmet screen. _"As you can see, today, Sergeant Major Zelda has joined us for this patrol. She will be part of this squad for this entire month to help us smooth things out with the Power Suit and to assist us with any tech support we might need. As usual, we'll be snooping through the southern docks for any sort of suspicious activity. Captain Falcon has informed us that Warehouse 6 must be thoroughly searched as well."_

 _"That place? I heard from the morning guys that some huge cargo was getting moved there,"_ Ike's gruff voice spoke, sounding concerned. _"Did Old Man Falcon pick that up from them?"_

 _"It would seem so,"_ Samus replied, nodding. _"If all goes well, we'll go out for pizza at Luigi's. No olives this time, Lieutenant Mario."_ Light laughter filled the small meeting room before it quieted down again. _"Let's move, people."_ The view soon shifted to that of the quiet Subspace City streets, an occasional piece of litter bouncing by.

Link's dark green helmet suddenly appeared on camera, his blue eyes looking at her through his visor. _"Don't get nervous, Zelda,"_ he said reassuringly. _"Your first patrol's hardly going to be a sweat."_

 _"Thank you, Link. I'm mostly nervous because I haven't been in armor in a few years. It's heavier than I remember..."_ The rows of towering warehouses eventually came into view, helmet torches lighting the way. The dark canvas of the sky that was usually speckled with thousands of stars was smothered in thick clouds, the likelihood of rain increasing with each passing minute.

The squad eventually stopped at a particularly shady looking warehouse, a gigantic 6 painted on the wall sloppily. Samus turned a knob on the side of her helmet and began to circle the warehouse. When she returned to the front of the area, she motioned for Zelda. _"Didn't find anybody inside but I found a very strange signal,"_ the lieutenant said. _"Can you hack the lock for us?"_ The camera moved up and down as the Hylian nodded and got to work on the door. _"How long do you think it'll take?"_

 _"Approximately half a minute. The firewall for this is surprisingly weak..."_ Suddenly, all that Zelda could see of the recording was the overcast sky as loud explosions rang out in the background. She heard a cry of pain and the screen shook repeatedly.

 _"Take 'em away, boys! We've got hostages tonight!"_ a deep rumbling voice exclaimed, wicked laughter filling the air. _"There ain't no Warehouse 6 anymore..."_

* * *

The video flicked off, silence filling Zelda's helmet. Captain Falcon's intel had been absolutely correct. Something suspicious had been at Warehouse 6. But he'd never thought it'd been a _bomb_ of all things. And that person, whoever it was, managed to lure them all into this trap for a reason.

Before Zelda could continue pondering her situation, a door outside of the small cell opened and she immediately tapped off her helmet torch. An unusually tall koopa entered the cell and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her out. "The Boss ain't an easy guy to deal with. Just tell him what he wants," he warned sternly, leading her out through the same door he came in. Zelda squinted against the bright light of an interrogation room.

An extremely large koopa was sitting at a desk, his menacing eyes looking her over. "I didn't know the squad had _another_ female member," Bowser grunted, the Hylian immediately recognizing his voice from the recording. "Remove her helmet." Zelda was extremely grateful she was wearing contacts as the servant literally ripped the helmet off of her head.

The larger koopa seemed even more amused as he observed her ears. "And I thought your kind was dead," he grunted, laughing. "Who would've known that some of you managed to escape before Gannyboy made you all mindless zombies? Let's make this simple. You're gonna tell me where Samus Aran is or I'll give you a scratch just like your friend." A large gauntlet was placed on the desk, four sharp blades protruding from its wrist area.

Zelda glanced at the weapon and back at the terrifying person in front of her slowly. She didn't say a word. "You have half an hour," Bowser spat, motioning for his underling to take her away. "Don't make this hard on yourself." Zelda was escorted out of the small room and tossed back into the cell, her only loss being the light from the helmet. Now the cell was as dark as it was before.

She heard the sound of armor scraping lightly against the concrete floor as Marth spoke, "Did they ask you about Samus, Zelda-san?"

"Yes, they want to know her location or they'll torture me," the Hylian replied, sighing. The situation wasn't very bright (no pun intended), especially since the brunette had no idea where Samus had gone and the fact remained that she'd be _scratched_ to death if she didn't know anyway. This wasn't a great way to end her career in the force.

"Zelda-san, please remove my helmet. I think my air filter has been clogged..." Marth mumbled, his voice sounding strained. Zelda hurried over to him, loosening the clasps and taking off the piece of armor. "Thank you. How long did they give you?"

"I only have thirty minutes, Marth," the brunette answered nervously. "I don't know what to do!"

"There is only one thing you can do then," he said, gripping her shoulder to bring her closer. "Do you remember the episode of Minor Cause that Falcon-dono forces every cadet to watch? When Samus-san escaped, she sent me a message while I was being dragged away that she was going to get help at the station near Trophy Street where we watched it during initiation. It will be approximately five hours before she can save us..."

* * *

Bowser couldn't hold in his laughter as he heard Marth give away Samus' location. The idea of putting surveillance cameras and microphones in the cell room had paid off grandly. He tapped a short message to his servants, informing them of the current situation. "It's time to see this Samus for real now," the giant koopa growled, laughing heartily while putting on the pieces of the Mecha Blazer armor. He almost knocked the door off its hinges as he slammed it open and stepped into the alleyway where a servant was waiting for him.

"The truck is ready for you, sir," the red shelled koopa said nervously, leading his boss to the armored vehicle. "The air conditioner has been set to 83 degrees, just how you like it, and the passenger seat has been adjusted to allow you to sit with your armor on... sir."

Bowser roughly pushed aside the smaller koopa and climbed into the front seat. "Well what are you waiting for?" he asked, watching the gawking servant immediately hop into the driver's seat and drove out of the abandoned alleyway. "Trophy Street. Now, Red."

Just as the truck arrived in the area, it suddenly stopped. "Wh-what the?" The driver got out only to step on a gooey black liquid. A disgusting smell wafted into the truck and Bowser wrinkled his nose. "S-sir, all of the tires are melted!"

"We're walking then," he growled, getting out of the armored truck and looking around for a police station in the dimly lit area. "Dammit, the bitch set us up." Bowser slammed his foot angrily on the road, a crater appearing where his boot once had been. Suddenly, something hit his arm and he looked down to see a small device blinking on it. "What the-?" His arm exploded as warped shrapnel flew into his helmet visor.

* * *

A single blue eye carefully looked through the scope once more before the rifle was lowered. Rocky turned to face the dark armored officer next to him, "Lieutenant Aran, the target is still active. Shall I continue firing?" Samus shook her head before signaling him to pack up and leave the area. He quickly took apart his rifle and clambered down the rickety ladder, the sound of his metal boots disappearing.

Samus looked over the edge of the building, her eyes taking in the flat sand that hid multiple EMP mines. The construction site had been abandoned nearly five years ago and the city never bothered to get rid of it. Whatever building that had been planned was half constructed, support pillars and beams properly in place with scaffolding hugging five stories of concrete and rusting rebars.

She was only using the area as a decoy while Captain Falcon moved his forces in to save her squad members. Marth's emergency call had reached her only ten minutes ago when Zelda had apparently started up his armor's systems. They created a plan entirely based on guesses, guessing that Bowser set up cameras and mics in their cell and guessing that he'd come storming to any location Marth would name. Samus considered getting a lottery ticket after this was all done and over with.

"Miss Aran, the target has successfully tracked the trajectory of the sticky bomb and is making his way here," ADAM chirped, magnifying the view of Bowser stomping extremely quickly on the visor. "ETA... half a minute. That, of course, does not include the time Bowser will spend climbing. Koopas are not known for their climbing skill but for their extreme endurance."

The blonde kept the AI's advice in mind, checking her cannon one last time. "ADAM, what's the scanner pick up on his armor?" she asked as the concrete underneath her began to tremble.

"It consists of an extremely heavy and dense alloy frame with fire retardant polymer underneath. I would suggest using the ice beam to weaken the mesh and then using a missile or the flamethrower to shatter or melt it. Officer Rocky created a small weak point in this koopa's upper left arm but I am sure you can figure out something with that, Miss Aran," ADAM replied. Samus imagined he would've been smirking if he was a real person. She quickly changed the loadout of her cannon and finished just as Bowser arrived at the bottom of the building.

He was absolutely seething, flames spouting from the base of his helmet. A single titanium claw pointed up at her, shaking in anger. "Get your god damn ass down here, Samus Aran! I know you're fucking up there, you bitch!" Bowser's outer armor speakers boomed, his voice loud enough to wake up half of Subspace City. "I'm here for your suit! You're either gonna fucking hand it over to me or I'll get up there and take it myself!"

Samus flipped him off and sat at the edge, swinging her legs almost as if she was relaxing at the park and not being threatened by a seven foot tall fire breathing turtle. Bowser stomped the ground angrily and the lieutenant flicked the switch, setting off the EMP mines. At first, nothing happened. Then nothing continued to happen.

"ADAM, the mines aren't working," the blonde said, flicking the switch once more. "What's going on?"

"Miss Aran, I have... I have miscalculated. This Koopa's suit does not have a single piece of hardware on it. It is entirely mechanical," ADAM admitted, almost sounding panicked. As if on cue, Bowser suddenly flew into the air, flames erupting from the back of his armor. He landed heavily on the concrete right next to Samus and she immediately backed away into a defensive stance. "He also had a gas powered propeller I didn't see..."

"ADAM, we're seriously fucked."

* * *

 **A/N: And that's all for chapter 3! Ah at this rate, I won't be finished with this Fanfiction until the end of the year! Anyway, please leave a review. I'm open to constructive criticism as always. Criticism only FUELS my ability to write! Thank you for reading!**


	4. Ground (Floor?) Breaking

**A/N: I haven't updated in a very long time due to some personal issues and because I lost my inspiration for a while. I pulled this chapter together over the course of five months and it's not the best. I've never written a fight scene before so I tried my best.**

* * *

"Let me hit you!" Sharp claws slashed at thin air as Samus jumped aside, narrowly avoiding Bowser's attack. The two armored fighters circled each other slowly, Samus keeping a close eye on her opponent. "For someone who's got the second most powerful suit in all of space, you sure can't fuckin' fight," Bowser taunted.

Samus didn't respond, keeping one eye on the overgrown koopa and another on the haptic screen on her helmet that read "95% charged." "ADAM, hurry up on the ice beam already!" she exclaimed, firing a smoke bomb at her opponent to keep him company. "I can't keep running around in circles even with it on auto-charge!"

"Samus, you're overheating the Arm Cannon's chamber with your missiles and bombs as it is. I'd suggest you aim for his claws when the beam is fully charged to shatter them and hopefully any splash damage weakens his armor. Two birds with one stone," ADAM said calmly as Bowser clawed at the smoke around him. "The beam is rea-" The lieutenant didn't bother to let her AI finish speaking, directly blasting the armored koopa's claws and legs with the ice beam. He roared, flames pouring out from his throat at the chunks of ice on his armor.

While Bowser was preoccupied with defrosting himself, Samus threw her grapple beam at him, tossing him into the air before slamming him back down with ease. Unfortunately, the cement broke under his heavy weight and the lieutenant ended up being dragged down to the lower level with him. She immediately deactivated the grapple beam, landing on all fours while her opponent managed to land gracefully on his back. "ADAM, any weak points?" Samus queried, watching as the dented wreck of armor began to move again.

"Take out the flamethrower on his throat. It's fire retardant but it is a significant structural weakness and has relatively bad wiring," the AI chirped. Bowser removed his cracked gauntlets and charged at Samus, intending to body slam her. She quickly side stepped him and elbowed the back of his neck, a mini taser shocking the koopa. He roared as the device around his neck began to short circuit, tearing it off as his large body quickly wore off the initial shock. "We shouldn't have any problems with him for now."

"You bitch!" Bowser tossed aside his helmet, his red eyes glaring at Samus as he wiped some sweat of his brow. He opened his mouth and Samus was welcomed to an enormous torrent of fire.

* * *

Link stirred in his cell, looking around in the darkness through his cracked visor. "I'm still here..." he said to himself, closing his eyes again. The Hylian took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cycled air from his armor's filter and breathed out slowly. Link's legs were crossed and his handcuffed wrists were suspended over his ankles as he softly chanted in ancient Hylian. "Goddess Farore, grant me the courage to see this through..."

Suddenly, light flooded the small cell and Link squinted, his eyes struggling to adjust to the brightness. "Sergeant Major Link is in here, Captain!" a familiar voice called out. _Zelda._ He stood up slowly, still squinting as the cage door opened. His handcuffs were removed and he was led out of his cell room. "Link, I was so worried about you. I was afraid that they'd gotten to you first," the brunette said, hugging him.

"It's okay, Zelda. I'm alright," Link muttered, feeling rather woozy from the sudden brightness. "Your safety is of greater concern, however. Are you hurt?" Captain Falcon was standing nearby, ordering several officers to bring Marth to the nearest treatment center for his leg wounds. Lieutenant Mario being put on stand-by for his nearly destroyed armor and bruised ribs.

Zelda glared at him, occasionally stealing glances at their more unfortunate squad mates. "Link, I'm perfectly alright. I only have a few bruises and bumps. I'll _live_ ," she huffed, annoyed that her friend was falling back to his old self-sacrificing habits. "Your boyfriend isn't doing very well, however." Link took about five seconds to process the information before stumbling over his own feet to speak with the medical staff nearby about Marth's condition.

"Sergeant Major," a gruff voice said behind Zelda. She turned around and stared up at Captain Falcon who was sporting a large bruise on his left cheek. "Pleased to see you're one of the only two of the squad that was mostly untouched. The guards here tried roughing us up but we managed to cuff most of em. There's a mess in one of the cell rooms though." Douglas grimaced and looked away momentarily before continuing, "The lieutenant managed to lure in that oversized turtle to a construction site and we're all in dire need of some snipers to help her out. Ike's got no training in sniping. Link's probably gonna go whether we like it or not but we need backup as usual."

"I suppose that's where I come in, Captain?" the brunette asked. Douglas nodded and handed her a small metal case. The handle felt worn and the case was dented in some areas.

"Meet me in the van. We're leaving in four." At that, the muscular captain walked off to bark orders at his men. _I suppose now's a better time than ever to find my helmet..._ Zelda thought, looking through the interrogation room nearby. The metal chair that Bowser sat on nearly an hour ago was completely flattened, looking more like a crushed soda can than a piece of furniture. Her helmet was sitting next to it, unscratched thankfully. She dusted it off and put it back on, waiting patiently for the piece of equipment to reconnect with her suit.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on the helmet's interior haptic screen. Without warning, a message played. "Hey," Samus' voice echoed sternly. "If you're getting this, Zelda, good. I need you to stay the hell away from the area of the fight." A monstrous roar echoed in the helmet. "... I'm sorry I couldn't save you earlier."

* * *

 **WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!** _This is so fucking annoying_ , Samus' mind screamed as she barely tore away from a blast of fire. Bright haptic messages were popping up on the helmet's interior, yelling that her shield battery was running out. "ADAM, where's my backup?!" the lieutenant yelled while rolling aside to dodge more fire. She couldn't risk her waning shield battery to charge like an idiot.

"They are driving at approximately two hundred-twenty kilometers per hour to the sniping area you set up in the case the EMP failed. The Captain is showing off like usual," the AI replied calmly while Samus bombarded Bowser with more missiles. "Samus, the others are at the location. Ice Beam has reached 100% completion. Our target may not survive the ensuing bombardment. Is that alright?"

The blonde didn't answer, dodging more fire that left dark spots and smoke on the concrete. "Stand still, dammit!" Bowser screamed, stomping after her. Samus lashed out her grapple beam and swung the giant koopa around before the beam fizzed out and he crashed through several support beams and through the floor to the lower level. Bowser struggled on his back, clawing at the air before he tipped over to his side. The armored officer took advantage of his struggle, immediately freezing his legs in place with the ice beam before jumping and landing next to him.

Samus immediately stepped back as shards of Bowser's armor exploded on his left arm. He roared in pain as more patches of his armor exploded, shrapnel flying everywhere. "Snipers are using armor piercing rounds but Captain Falcon is insisting on a live cap-" ADAM's voice interrupted as the enormous koopa grabbed Samus by the chest with his enormous hand, crushing the armor plates like paper. He slammed her onto her back into the cracked concrete floor with all his weight, a web of cracks forming on the molding surface. "I'm not dying because of some souped up armored bitch!" Bowser screamed as they broke through floor after floor. "You're going down with me!"

"Samus, your shields have run out!" ADAM cried as Samus broke through the last layer of concrete and slammed onto the hard foundation. Pain spiked in the lieutenant's back and right arm, distracting her from the looming figure of Bowser. _God dammit... after all this training, I get defeated by a giant turtle..._ "Please! You have to move!" She strained herself getting up, feeling sharp pain in her ribs. _Must've broken a few..._

"ADAM... stims... _now_ ," Samus groaned, emphasizing the last word. Suddenly, her view of the ground transformed into that of Bowser's ugly, mangled, and burnt face. His dark red eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark as each breathe he took let out puffs of fire. Samus' head spun as she struggled to focus on her opponent, not sure if the liquid on her face was blood, tears, or sweat (or a mixture of all three).

"You've got my best men all locked up. You ruined my favorite suit of armor. You gave me ugly scars all over _my_ handsome face," Bowser growled, his grip on the woman growing tighter as her armored hand weakly clawed at his fingers. "Heh. Gannyboy was right, though. The Chozos made some kick ass armor if you're still alive in there." The koopa roughly threw off the helmet, Samus' golden hair spilling out. "Any last words, bitch?"

Samus slowly lifted her head to glare Bowser in the eye and nodded. "That's _Lieutenant_ to you." Her arm cannon seemed to move all on its own, as it rose up and slammed into his mouth. Before the mafioso could react, a missile went off in his throat. The back of his neck exploded and, presumably, the rest of his internal organs as the missile exploded.

Bowser fell on his side, his grip on Samus barely loosening as smoke spilled out of his mouth. "ADAM... call for... backup..." she grunted, trying to find a more comfortable position in the hand of a person she _just_ killed. Her vision blurred as she remembered the fact that her ribs were probably smithereens at this point. _Zelda isn't going to be happy about the suit repairs..._

* * *

The sergeant major was the only one to arrive at the scene, lugging a first aid kit and a repair kit. At Zelda's heels were Douglas and Link, both of them carrying additional repair kits. The captain grimaced at the gruesome scene, the entire back of Bowser's throat blown out and Samus almost looking comfortable as blood leaked out from her armor. "Miss Aran, your friends have arrived," ADAM spoke up from the suit's chest plate. "Escape from this clammy prison has greatly risen in probability." The blonde Hylian set his repair kit on the ground and knelt down to take a look at Bowser's massive hand.

Link unhooked a field knife from his belt and scrutinized the hand. "If I recall, the tendons are around here somewhere..." He carefully slipped the knife between the palm and Samus' chest plate, cutting across as deeply as he could into the muscle. The fingers loosened considerably and the officer was able to pry them off of Samus. "Feeling better, Lieutenant Aran?"

"Thanks..." Samus grunted, sitting up against a support column with her friend's assistance. "You've all been saving my ass for a while..." She gave a small smile but winced at the sharp pain coming from her ribs. "ADAM, injury report?"

"Eight ribs with multiple fractures, three broken ribs, left arm has multiple fractures, right arm has a slightly torn tendon, right wrist is dislocated, and there is minor fracturing in your left femur. Your ribs have protruded through your side but not by very much. You'll be off duty for about two weeks even with a bone and muscle regenerator," the AI answered sharply. There was a short pause before he continued, "Ah yes I forgot. There's a cut on Samus' forehead. She'll have to get stitches for that." Samus grunted in disgust at the sound of stitches while Zelda seemed more amused at the idea of a doctor shakily applying stitches onto the lieutenant while she wore her signature icy glare.

"I'll call for an ambulance. The others are getting the morgue," the captain announced, tapping Bowser's corpse with the tip of his boot. While Douglas turned around to make his call, Samus carefully pressed a button under her left shoulder pauldron. The Power Suit began to disassemble, parts and pieces attaching to each other with ease. Soon enough, she was left in her zero suit with an oddly textured ball of metal sitting next to her. It was much easier to breathe without half a ton of armor sitting on her chest.

Samus closed her eyes just as she felt something heavy cover her body. She lazily opened an eye, noticing a thick blanket covering her. "The zero suit is uh... it..." Zelda seemed at a loss for words but powered on, "I don't want you getting cold and um... the Captain told me to keep you warm while we wait for the ambulance to arrive." The blonde nodded slowly, disgruntled about the fact she couldn't fall asleep while she had the chance. Hopefully the hospital had better mattresses this time around.

"I'm sorry I didn't grab you during the warehouse explosion," Samus apologized after a moment of silence, her eyes still closed. "I just ran as fast as I could and I didn't look back. You must be disappointed in me..."

"Lieutenant, you're not... expendable like the rest of us," Zelda replied, sitting down next to the blonde with a weary look on her face. "You are the only person capable of using the Power Suit at its greatest capacity. If you were captured with the rest of us, you wouldn't have been able to call for backup and we'd all be dead. I'm just glad you're safe like the rest of us."

Samus opened her mouth to reply but the wail of a siren made her decide otherwise. "Keep the suit safe, Zel," the lieutenant reminded as she was strapped onto the gurney by several paramedics.

"There's no doubt I'll be doing that, Samus," the Hylian said, rolling her eyes as she followed the gurney. "I'll fix it up on the way back to the station."

"Don't overwork yourself. You're important to me." Samus' last words came out almost as a whisper and before Zelda could say anything more, the ambulance doors closed. As the emergency vehicle drove away, Douglas noticed his officer sitting next to the Power Suit.

He sat down with her, his dark shades reflecting the glare of the streetlights. "Hey, you doing alright?"

"Captain, when are visiting hours?"

* * *

 **A/N: In the next chapter, both Samus and the Power Suit go under the knife for repairs. And Ganondorf will make his first true appearance. possibly. I hope I don't run out on inspiration halfway through the next chapter and make such long pauses between updates... Please leave a review. I need constructive criticism.**


	5. Humming in Orange

**A/N: I'm back at last. Over the past couple... er, multiple months I've been really busy with school, personal crap, etc. I didn't find myself in the mood to write more chapters until today when I'm moody and feeling sick... Anyway, this is probably the chapter where things really begin to escalate.**

 **7/8/16: Noticed some unnecessary words. Removed and re-wrote sentences. Lots of redundant details.**

* * *

Two sips. An exhale. The pink tinted mug slid back onto the table. A few taps on the computer. Nothing. A pair of sunglasses was placed on the table next to the keyboard. Douglas rubbed his eyes with his hand, sighing. It'd been no less than five hours since Bowser's body had been taken in for clues. His battleship, the Flaming Torch, had been searched and came up clean... too clean. His lackeys were still within the city, possibly planning something. The captain was not happy about this as he received an e-mail from the mayor. Yet again, the complaint was about damages to the road and public structures.

Douglas could've sworn that the amount of wrinkles on his face doubled with each e-mail he got. He wasn't old but he was starting to feel his strength slowly seep away. The strawberry milk left a sour taste in his mouth... The captain stood up and took his coat, deciding now was a better time than any to check on what the morgue had to offer. Surely, Palutena had finished the autopsy by now. Douglas locked the door of his office and took off for the morgue. He walked towards the back of the building and turned into a hallway that ended with a steel door. There was a number pad on the side of the steel door instead of a card swipe mechanism or a simple door knob.

The captain entered the seven number password and the door opened inwards, letting him in. The morgue was quiet, except for the occasional shuffle of papers and chalk rubbing against a board. There were three stainless steel "tables" for bodies that had to be worked on, clean and well kept but not reflective enough to see anything clearly on it. Despite the smell of antibiotics and ammonia, it wasn't that bad. It was small since the station wasn't meant for storing large amounts of dead. Douglas only hoped that Palutena hadn't gone out of practice from the lack of dead bodies.

A tall green haired woman in a lab coat was standing in front of Bowser's body, the enormous corpse covered in a blue plastic sheet that barely touched the floor. She looked up and gave him a beaming smile. "Captain, it's wonderful to see you! You've given me a wondrous specimen today!" the woman gushed, putting aside her papers. Palutena was jokingly named the "Goddess of the Dead" in the station due to her incredibly friendly and can-do attitude that just made people gravitate towards her. And the fact that she was the one who handled all the bodies that went in and out of the morgue. Couldn't forget that.

"Don't suppose Lucina has a better explanation than the trainwreck you'll dish out to me?" Douglas teased, laughing when Palutena gave him a murderous glare. Lucina appeared from behind a cabinet, sporting a similar lab coat that was splattered in dark red stains. She gave a polite nod to the captain and handed a manila folder to the goddess.

"I found the file you were looking for on the average body structure of a Koopa, Palutena," she mumbled, her blue eyes not daring to make contact with Palutena's. Douglas felt a smile form on his face as he watched the goddess pat Lucina's head in an endearing manner. The green haired woman quickly pulled out several loose papers that were suitable for her explanation and handed them to the captain.

"Please look through these, Captain, and tell me what you think when compared to this... man here." Palutena wrinkled her nose at the missile blasted Koopa and looked directly at her superior officer for his insight. Douglas looked at each sheet, noticing that the body diagrams and general body structures were completely different from that of Bowser's. While the average Koopa was approximately three to four feet tall, Bowser was an enormous seven foot tall monster growing bony spikes and horns.

He grimaced at the damage done to the giant turtle. Burns and scrapes were the least of what concerned Douglas. It was the giant hole in Bowser's neck that bothered him. He wasn't able to watch the entire fight and was mostly rushing to rescue Samus when she'd collapsed. "So... what did Lieutenant Aran do this time?" the captain asked, coughing from the dry air.

Lucina answered for Palutena, "The lieutenant used an explosive. From the damage and shrapnel left over in his throat-" Douglas gagged a bit as the morgue assistant lifted the plastic covering. "- we can assume that the lieutenant released a missile to end him as quickly as possible. I don't blame her." The blue haired woman glanced nervously at the corpse in front of her as if she feared it would rise up and bite off her arm. "There was an aberrant tumor growing on his primary liver that was beginning to spread to his secondary and tertiary livers. It also appears that Bowser was on several different steroids and muscle enhancements during the fight. It was causing severe nerve damage but his secondary systems kept him alive."

Douglas looked uncomfortable for a moment, wondering what exactly could push an already enormous person to take muscle enhancements. If it had just been for capturing his squad, what else could this terrifying turtle have planned? "Anything else to mention, ladies?" Douglas looked at them expectantly, confused when Palutena was the first to look nervous. "What is it?"

"This man may or may not have been a former member of the Green Scales," the morgue director answered, trying to word her sentence as best as she could. "We found an insignia on his right arm that indicated he was once a part of the group but he was, unfortunately, cast down from his position judging by the vicious scratches on it." Palutena pulled the sheet, exposing his giant muscled arm. There was a simple green turtle shell with a white outline and many jagged scars crisscrossing over it.

Douglas felt his heart drop as soon as he recognized the mark. "... I should ask Luigi and Mario about this," he mumbled, knowing very well what Bowser was now. The Green Scales were a famous gangster ring that operated in the Mushroom Cloud star system approximately fifty-eight million light years away. The ring was notorious for drug dealing and robbing tech banks clean. A few simple hops through the Galaxy Warp gates and a small fleet of their smuggling ships could arrive within mere hours. The captain had a few skirmishes with them in the past and didn't think it was a good idea to have anymore.

"You're going to Luigi's, right?" Palutena asked, snapping Douglas out of his thoughts. "Could you pick up a broccoli and bacon pizza for me?" She was reaching for her wallet when the captain shook his head.

"I'll pay for it, Palutena," he insisted. "I just expect you two will perform at your greatest capacities and not distract each other instead..." Lucina nearly dropped the folders she'd been carrying, her face bright red as Palutena chuckled.

"Rest assured, Captain, Lucy here is much too young for me. Now be off. I have a pizza you're supposed to be buying for me!" Palutena practically shoved Douglas out of the morgue before the steel door slid back in place and hydraulics locked it. The captain lingered for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. Were the short ones always shy?

* * *

The hospital room was quiet, excluding the steady hum of the bone regeneration chamber. The orange tinted glass and dim lighting reminded Samus of the testing chamber from so long ago. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on sleep. Five tortuous minutes ticked by. The lieutenant huffed, blowing strands of blonde hair out of her face. She couldn't move for a while thanks to her broken bones and she was stuck in a stupid orange tube that _hummed_. The team had visited her earlier and had given an update on the situation. Bowser was dead, mayor was angry again, yadda yadda yadda. Mario had been kind enough to request a blanket for her since the hospital gown was worse than last time, thin enough to leave almost nothing to the imagination.

Samus felt like throwing her head at the orange glass but remembered that she couldn't possibly pay off the damage costs of an expensive machine. "Keep it together, dammit," she muttered. The blonde breathed in deeply and exhaled, temporarily clearing her mind. Old Bird would've been disappointed in her if she became angry over being stuck in an orange tube... never mind, perhaps the Old Bird would've understood after all. The inability to move was starting to get to her.

The door opened, the hinges squeaking loudly from lack of lubrication. "I'm so glad I brought some oil..." a familiar feminine voice said, muffled by the hum of the regeneration chamber. Something heavy was placed on the floor and several minutes passed before the door closed silently. "Much better." Zelda appeared and she waved at Samus, a smudge of grease on her cheek. She was still dressed in her lab coat and black cargo pants with a dark purple shirt that had a multitude of oil stains on it. She'd just gotten off from work, judging from her appearance.

"Hey, Zel," the police officer grunted, pulling her arms out from under the blanket. Her right wrist was purple and light yellow bruises dotted the rest of her arm, tiny little reminders of how lucky she'd been to not get scratched instead. Her co-worker sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs, a small toolbox in her hands. "You here to break me out or something?"

"Yes, Sammy." Samus cringed at her nickname as Zelda laughed and began to fiddle with the bone regeneration chamber's system. "The doctor told me to let you out of the chamber so you could stretch. You've been in here for twenty hours and the staff began to feel worried after hearing you talk to yourself for five of those hours." The dreaded humming stopped and instead, there was a hissing noise as the orange glass slid to the side. The blonde slowly sat up, using her left arm to keep herself upright.

"Not sure if I could walk though. Femur's fractured." Samus pointed at her leg, wincing as her wrist bent slightly.

"I'll get you a wheelchair," Zelda said, standing up from her seat to call for a nurse. "Goddesses know why they let a frequent visitor use expensive medical equipment but can't bother to give their most frequent patient a wheelchair." The lieutenant rolled her eyes as her friend went to look for a wheelchair. She glanced down at her thin hospital gown and could only hope that the Hylian got her some clothes as well...

-OMaSM-

Angular shapes and harsh lines made up a majority of the architecture of Smash City, making it rather unpleasant on the eyes. The population was steadily declining due to a lack of economic growth and a rise in gang related murder and drug use. Not to mention, there were only about fifty police officers and peace keepers working throughout the nearly one million square mile city and were merely annoyances in the face of "evildoers." And all the mayor would do was sit in his cushy office and sip expensive coffee while sending complaints to the police force that relied on his funding.

At least that was what everyone thought. No one had ever seen the mayor in person since he never appeared in public and his political opinions were a complete mystery. Internet conspiracy boards chattered daily about the possibility that the mayor of Smash City didn't exist and it was all a fraud meant to trick the populace into eventually becoming mindless slaves of a collective society. The citizens of the city didn't seem to care about the identity of their mayor, simply going about their daily lives and doing their best to avoid getting caught up in gun fights.

The mayoral building was made up of five floors, each one brimming with data disks and archaic stacks of moldy paper. However, there was no one to be found. Cobwebs and a thick layer of dust covered the hallways, an indication that it'd been quite some time since it'd been open to the public. The main office door was boarded up from the outside but the sound of mechanical typing could be heard from within. Inside, the smell of must and rotting flesh hung in the air. The bookcases were stained in blood that had long dried and its source was lying on the floor, a cloud of flies buzzing over it.

The steel desk was covered in dust and cockroaches with an archaic monitor and keyboard sitting at the center. The glowing keys lowered on their own, typing endless lines of code that scrolled up indefinitely on the monitor. Endless, endless typing...

* * *

 **A/N: While I was editing and typing up most of this chapter, I was sick (and still currently am). Again, I apologize for the incredibly late update. Life isn't good for everyone.**


	6. Catching a Break

**A/N: I'm alive. I've been busy (wow nice excuse isn't it) with high school and I have been unable to do much else besides writing a bit every month or so. The summer was also busy, full of wasted time and sleeping in until noon. I wish I'd published something sooner but better late than never correct? This chapter is very focused on Samus and Zelda, just a heads up. I did my best to keep the information in this chapter consistent with the past five but since a lot of it the important stuff was in chapter 4 (which was lost and I haven't been able to keep things consistent because I'm an actual MESS), I probably got some things wrong. Oh well, R/R.**

* * *

Escaping the hospital room hadn't been as simple as Samus had envisioned. Four nurses and a doctor later, she finally landed her butt on the worn seat of the wheelchair Zelda had borrowed. The doctor, an aging man who was completely bald and had cybernetic replacements for his eyes, put a brace under her hospital gown that clamped down on her midsection tightly. "You'll feel better if you sit up properly in the wheelchair, Ms. Aran," he said in a matter-of-fact tone when she'd complained about how uncomfortable it was. "I expect you back in the hospital in four hours and no longer than that. Make sure of it, Ms. Zelda." The Hylian nodded absentmindedly as she hooked her toolbox onto one of the handlebars of the wheelchair.

"Zelda, you got any clothes in that handy dandy toolbox of yours?" Samus asked in a sarcastic tone. Zelda rolled her eyes as she picked up the blanket from the empty bone regeneration machine and folded the long sheet in half. The hospital wouldn't mind a single missing blanket, especially since the nurses weren't around to see this. The brunette wrapped the folded blanket around Samus' chest and shoulders, creating some sort of makeshift top since the hospital gown was far too thin. "I wanted a sports bra but I guess this works too."

"Lieutenant, it's this or back to the regenerator..." Zelda said in a carefree, yet threatening, tone. The blonde decided to keep her mouth shut as her friend brushed blonde bangs out of her eyes. "You should get a haircut soon, Sammy. What if these poked you while you were fighting another fire breathing turtle?"

Samus groaned and smacked her forehead. "Just get me out of here, Zelda..." Zelda obediently wheeled Samus out of the room, thanking a nurse nearby for the wheelchair. The blonde's vision blurred momentarily from the sudden movement so she closed her eyes. There was silence as the pair made their way past the lobby to the open courtyard. The brick layered path circled around the hospital with smaller paths leading to smaller buildings and more paths that boggled Samus' mind. Did the set up have to be this strange? Zelda stopped them next to a metal bench and pressed her foot on the wheel lock at the back of the wheelchair.

"Hey... Zel?" The Hylian perked up at the sound of her nickname.

"Yes?"

There was a pause before Samus spoke. "While I was in the bone regenerator earlier... I felt like I was remembering something. It was like I'd been in a similar situation in the past." She opened her eyes, staring up at the dark sky. Air pollution kept even the brightest stars from appearing.

"So you've managed to break three ribs before?" Zelda teased, walking around Samus' wheelchair and taking a seat on the bench. The blonde immediately regretted her poor choice of words, rolling her eyes in response.

"No, it's not like that. If you took away the humming noise and filled the tube with some kind of soft cotton, it would've felt like... like I'd been there before." Samus continued to struggle to bring up the right combination of words. Her friend thought about it and could only come up with one answer to these unusual musings.

"Are you talking about the womb?" she asked, scrunching her delicate eyebrows together in thought. The lieutenant turned her head stiffly to give Zelda a deadpan look. "I'll take that as a no. Do you remember anything else?"

"It felt like I was floating in a liquid, kind of like floating in space." Samus wrinkled her nose and pinched the bridge with her left hand. "It's weird. Maybe it's just the pain killers they're giving me."

Zelda pondered for a bit, wondering what exactly Samus was really trying to say. "My... people, the Hylians, believed in reincarnation and that one's dreams and experiences are warnings from past lives. Perhaps the feeling you're getting is your past self warning you about something."

"Like what?" The lieutenant's voice sounded childishly innocent.

"A coffin, perhaps?" Silence followed as the two stared up at the polluted sky. A strong gust of artificial wind blew through the area and they sat in silence, staring at the smog.

* * *

The next two weeks were agonizing. Samus was caught sneaking out of the hospital five times in total, claiming each time, without fail, that she was going insane and needed fresh air (ironic since the air outside of the hospital was probably worse than whatever Samus had been breathing inside of the hospital). She missed out on several night patrols but her squadmates made sure to visit just before patrol duties started and to help fix the itchy blanket that never covered her enough. When Samus was finally released, she stole the itchy blanket and dumped it in the waste bin just outside.

Meanwhile, Zelda was having technical difficulties. Despite working on the Power Suit for so long, she still had no idea what some parts of it were made of. The cooling chamber in the arm cannon was warped from the extreme temperatures it'd been exposed to during the battle with Bowser and had to be scrapped. The energy pack for the suit's kinetic barrier was only seconds away from exploding before ADAM "spat" it out of a compartment on the chest. And to make things worse... the plates on the armor had been crushed like they were made of aluminum foil.

The Power Suit was made of an unknown Chozo metal alloy that was supposedly incredibly strong. "I guess it wasn't strong enough to withstand a mutant Koopa's grip," Zelda thought sardonically as she checked on the status of the internal computer. She hooked the suit up to the computer outside of the mechanical room, she could perform a proper diagnostic. It wasn't fried, thank the goddesses, but a strange sound kept coming from the helmet every time. The Hylian squinted at the visor to find nothing showing up. Did she have to put it on to see something?

Hesitantly, Zelda picked up the helmet in her hands and wasn't surprised by how heavy it was. She took off her glasses and carefully slipped the helmet over her head. The inside was surprisingly spacious and the scent of citrus tickled her nose. The visor that had appeared green on the outside was crystal clear (funny since everything was blurry for her at the moment). A glowing pop-up appeared on the visor and numbers appeared on it. "Coordinates...?" the Hylian thought, squinting until her eyes were thin slits. Curse her farsightedness.

Zelda took off the helmet and fumbled for the contact lens case in her lab coat. After putting on the contacts, she resumed squinting at the bright numbers in the helmet. With the piece of armor still sitting on her head, the Hylian searched for something to write the numbers down on. As she searched for a datapad to write it down on, the sound of military boots on smooth concrete echoed from the hall leading into the computer room.

"Is that my helmet?" Samus asked at the same as she opened the metal door. Zelda nearly leapt out of her skin, keeping a firm grip on the helmet to keep it from flying off. "Why are you wearing it?" The second question came out in an aggressive tone.

"I-I was doing a diagnostic and some noise kept coming from your helmet and I found nothing wrong with it since it was relatively undamaged and only needed a paint job so I put on the helmet and it had some numbers show up and-" Samus stopped listening after that point, her early aggressiveness replaced with curiosity. She placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder, causing her friend to stop in mid sentence.

"These numbers, can I see them?" The brunette nodded and took off the helmet, revealing her sheepish expression. Samus paid no mind to Zelda's embarrassment, practically shoving the helmet onto her head. She read the numbers and took out her phone, typing the numbers "08 06 1988" onto a digital notepad. The blonde stared at the number, irked that she didn't know what it meant. "ADAM."

The visor of the helmet glowed gently. "Yes?" the AI asked inquisitively.

"What do those numbers mean, ADAM?" Zelda leaned forward a bit to hear what ADAM had to say. The three waited in silence for what seemed like hours when ADAM finally spoke.

"Coordinates, Miss Aran," he answered politely, his voice edged with something that Zelda detected as hesitation. "Coordinates within the city. Specifically, the ruins of Chozo Industries." Samus' face paled and her hands shook gently as she put the helmet down on the cluttered desk of datapads and tea cups. "Would you like to know the fastest bus route to the area?"

* * *

The transportation system in Smash City was out-of-date, underfunded like everything else, and sorely lacking in actual service. Anyone who wanted to get anywhere had to either walk, hitch a ride, or take their own vehicle. Samus decided it was better to walk. She had the morning and afternoon off and needed to stretch her legs after being in the bone regeneration chamber for so long. Her mind was empty of all thoughts, focusing on getting to what was left of Chozo Industries. Samus took long strides, her golden brows scrunched together in thought as Zelda had to practically jog to catch up with her.

Her memories of her adoptive parents were blurry and her only memory of Chozo Industries was seeing it collapse in flames. The only reason she'd been so nervous was because she despised the building. It seemed to taunt Samus from afar, inviting it into the deep piles of ash and broken glass to sleep in the skeletal arms of parents she hardly remembered. According to the records, the Subspace Police Bureau hadn't found anything of great significance in the underground labs besides the Power Suit, equipment for inspection and repairing of the Suit, and blueprints that made even a tech genius like Zelda confused. Could it have been possible that the search party had missed something?

After nearly forty-five minutes deep in thought, a dark shadow loomed over Samus. She looked up to see the crumbling edge of a once proud skyscraper, the entire top half gone and the bottom half not faring much better. Windows were cracked and stained and the exposed steel bars were nearly rusted through from time and acid rain. The sliding doors at the front entrance had been forcefully knocked down decades before and police tape formed a new barrier. After the fire, the surrounding area had been utterly abandoned, slowly becoming a ghetto area for the poor and unemployed over the last decade or so. At night, gunfire erupted from the alleyways and drugs were traded for canned food and bottled water.

At the moment, the neighborhood was quiet except for the sound of Zelda catching her breath. Wait, Zelda was catching her breath? Samus turned around, finally noticing that her much shorter friend was leaning against a "No Parking" sign. "You... you walk... _huff_... really fast..." Zelda gasped. "My lungs are dying... _huff_..." Samus found it adorable that Zelda had to run to catch up with her and patted the brunette's back.

"Take your time. I won't go into the building without you, Zelda," she said, in part because she really didn't want to go into that wreck. "Or maybe I actually should go by myself. I don't want you getting crushed by a partially melted steel beam or anything." The Hylian glared at her friend, her steel blue eyes boring through Samus' skull.

"We go together or not at all. What if you get crushed by a partially melted steel beam or something?" Zelda asked, coughing into her fist as she finally got air back into her lungs. She stood up straight, trying to make the most of her height of five foot-four inches. Samus felt some strange emotion burning in the back of her head as Zelda stood defiantly.

"You know a path in and out of the building safely?" Samus' question was answered with a firm nod.

* * *

 **A/N: And yeahhhhh they're going to explore an old building. woo. I'm doing my best to write a convincing Samus yet I feel like she doesn't feel entirely human, more like a being imitating a human being if that more accurately describes it. While she isn't truly flat, she isn't truly a 3D character from how I've written her. I hope to improve on that soon if I continue to write at the dead snail's pace I'm at. Please leave a review.**


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